First Cain Accuser Identified, Called Reliable

The identity of Herman Cain’s main accuser was revealed on Tuesday as Karen Kraushaar, a 55-year-old competitive equestrian who has worked as a government spokeswoman for years.

Kraushaar is the woman who initially had planned to go public with her story last week, but eventually allowed her attorney, Joel Bennett, speak for her.

But today, the iPad website The Daily revealed Kraushaar’s identity, apparently without her permission. National Public Radio reported that Kraushaar had confirmed that she made the complaint against Cain but would say no more.

Karen Kraushaar, shown in a Facebook photo, "wouldn’t be the type to make false allegations,” her brother-in-law says. “This happened 10 years ago. It’s not like she wanted to try to hurt the Republican Party.”

Kraushaar, who has worked in government for years, was thrust in the limelight as chief spokeswoman for what was then the Immigration and Naturalization Service during the high-profile Elian Gonzalez case in 2000. She now is communications director at the Inspector General’s Office at the Treasury Department.

She has also worked in public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Taxpayer Advocate Service, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

She had her husband, Kevin, have been married for 26 years. He is a lawyer who works as a lobbyist, and although both are registered Republicans, CNN reported that Karen Kraushaar gave $250 to the Democratic National Committee in January 2009.

“She wouldn’t be the type to make false allegations,” the Daily quotes her brother-in-law Ned Kraushaar as saying. “This happened 10 years ago. It’s not like she wanted to try to hurt the Republican Party.”

Kraushaar was diagnosed with the spinal condition scoliosis when she was 21 and told an equestrian website that she finds sitting on horseback more comfortable than sitting for long stretches in a chair, according to The Daily.

Jennie Williams, a friend and fellow equestrian, described Kraushaar as “an extraordinarily good person,” in an interview with The Daily. “She is very reliable and has lots of integrity. She is quality.”

Kraushaar, who lives in Germantown, Md., signed a confidentiality agreement in return for quitting her job at the National Restaurant Association after she made a formal complaint that Cain, who was the association’s CEO at the time, had harassed her.

Specific details of what he is alleged to have said or done have not been revealed. However, it is understood that her complaint centered around his actions at an alcohol-fueled lunch in Virginia and that hers is the complaint that Cain made light of when he said it included his comment that she was about as tall as his wife.

During Bennett’s news conference last week, he alleged that Cain’s inappropriate behavior toward her went on for “at least a month or two.” Bennett refused to say how much money his client had received for leaving her job, but other reports have put it at $35,000, the equivalent of a year’s salary.

Ned Kraushaar told The Daily that his sister-in-law had never discussed her allegations. “She kept it all quiet because of the confidentiality agreement,” said the Atlanta software consultant. “She doesn’t like all the attention.

Kraushaar is one of two women who worked at the restaurant association in the late 1990s who made formal complaints about Cain’s behavior. The second woman alleged that he invited her up to his hotel room during a convention in Chicago.

Since the revelation of those complaints, two other women have come forward alleging he acted improperly toward them. One, who remains unidentified, said he invited her to his corporate apartment in Washington, D.C. The second, Sharon Bialek, appeared at a News conference in New York on Monday and claimed Cain tried to grope her as they sat in his car.

Cain is due to address the accusations of harassment at a news conference in Phoenix this afternoon. So far he has steadfastly denied doing anything wrong.

He told late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel that he was “disgusted” with Bialek’s accusations and said his wife, Gloria, had told him: “The things that woman described — that doesn’t even sound like you — and I’ve known you for 45 years.”

The identity of Herman Cain s main accuser was revealed on Tuesday as Karen Kraushaar, a 55-year-old competitive equestrian who has worked as a government spokeswoman for years.
Kraushaar is the woman who initially had planned to go public with her story last week, but...